72 hours to live
by DarknessBloodAngel
Summary: What if you only had 72 hours to live? and the world around you, the world you grew up in and knew, was changing drastically? Dedicated to VaultofSecrets.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, hey guys. I'm back from my break now, and I've got alotta new stories up, so enjoy. Some of you may or may not recognise this story, it's because I originally had it up as a Kick story, and I hate that pairing now. Well, I always have, it's just I didn't have the balls to post some slash, but now I have, I made 72 hours a Jarry story, and made it better.**

**No seriously, I was re-tweaking all the chapters, and I was like, "Did I really write this?" So I've deleted the crappy version because there's a rule about the same content being on the site twice, and uploaded the Jarry version. I've changed some of the stuff about Zombies, and Kim is in, but there won't be any kick moments, at the minimum they'll talk to each other or hug platonically. xD**

**This story is dedicated to Georgia (VaultofSecrets) because she said in a review to one of my finished stories that she'd read a Zombie story, just not Kick, so I made this for her (and you guys obviously) to read.**

**This story, as I said in the summary, is rated M, though there's not gonna be any sex - might be a few close scenes - it's only for the violence as I'm upping the gore this time. :)**

**Enjoy, and I'll need over eight reviews for an update.**

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Jerry peeked his head out into the dimly lit courtyard, deciding it was safe to run. He couldn't see anything that was dangerous. He knew perfectly well it wasn't safe to walk alone anymore, especially not at night.

Not since the infected invaded and millions were massacred by their once loved ones.

Everyone was afraid; it was like everyone had given up, their hopes lay crushed on the empty, desolate streets and few remained in town to fight. If somebody had told Jerry a few months ago that a Zombie apocalypse would divide up the town and threaten everyone close to him, he would have called them crazy and moved on. But now, he was _living_ it. Living in Hell on Earth.

Zombies' true aims and purposes around Seaford - and some places around the world - were unknown, other than to kill, terroize and make more of their own, nobody really knew what they were doing here on Earth.

Not much was know either, except that everything had started down in Texas after an explosion in a nuclear powerplant and those killed came back as Zombies and that one bite was the key to turning someone into a Zombie, although other means had made themselves apparent too, ones too terrifying to mention.

The symptons were easy to spot, but only to a trained eye. To unsuspecting people, the person infected would simply look like they were having a bad case of the flu, early on during the transformation that was. Calling it a transformation left a sour taste in everyone's mouths; it was _not_ a transformation. It was a curse of the vilest sort.

The first symptom was vomiting and uncontrollable shivering, causing the victim to lose a considerable amount of weight and their bones would become visible through their skin.

The second was that the bite would become severely inflamed and start frothing; the toxins in the bite would start to take effect, giving the victim awful headaches and muscle pain.

The third and final stage was the last stage of the metamorphosis and possibly the most disturbing and sickening. The victim's skin would start to decay and become mottled, then their eyes would turn _white_, making them a true Zombie and supposedly, according to the stories told, incurable.

And they only had 72 hours to live once bitten.

There was no cure either, anyone bitten was doomed, unless they ended their life. But it didn't matter unless they destroyed their brain. If a person committed suicide with their brain still intact, it would only speed up the transformation, making it almost instantaneous.

There had been a cure once, the remedy only known to only a handful of people, and those people had been killed under suspicious sounding circumstances wherein everybody ruled off the Zombies as the culprits.

In a certain way, Jerry and everyone else living in Seaford was more lucky than those in other countries, because in Seaford everything still seemed remotely normal, with only a few hoardes of Zombies lurking in street corners.

But there was still a huge risk which everyone was smartly taking the necessary precautions for; all the adults were buying guns and shortening their children's curfews unless they were with a friend or two. Hence why Jerry was walking home - or rather running - much earlier than he normally would have done, since Jack had had to go home to help his mother with the shopping, or that was what he told Jerry anyway.

Jerry spotted an alleyway, deciding he wasn't stupid enough to go in there and get eaten by whatever was lurking in there, and was about to turn around when a low moaning sound rumbled from behind the trees. His eyes widened as a pack of Zombies - ugly, disgusting things with rotten skin and the odd few had limbs chewed off - limped slowly towards him, their eyes looking malicious and hungry.

Seeing no other choice, he darted into the alleyway, the Zombie's slowly, but surely, coming after him. Nothing in his karate training - not that he was good enough to even put up a remotely good fight against starving Zombie's - could have prepared him for this; Zombie's couldn't feel pain.

Jerry screamed as their skeletal hands groped for him in the darkness, backing him up against the wall as he tried to avoid them. Their arms smothered him as his back hit the brick wall and all he could see was a mess of blackened skin and white eyes. He whimpered and gasped as their fingers clawed at his hair and skin, screaming loudly as they opened their mouths, revealing yellow crooked teeth, ready to make a meal out of him.

"Hey!" he heard a familiar voice yell angrily. The Zombie's made grunts of confusion, some releasing him to turn towards the sound. Jerry squinted through the gaps their bodies made, spotting Jack's muscular form standing at the other end of the alleyway.

"Jack help me!" he screamed wildly. He had never been more happy to see Jack in his entire life, if anyone could save him, it would be his best friend.

"I'm coming, Jerry!" he called back. Jack leapt forwards with a flying side-kick, smashing into the Zombie's, knocking back a good majority of them. They stumbled clumsily and Jack reached an arm into the fray, yanking Jerry out of harm's way and safely behind him. The Zombie's glared at him murderously, no doubt upset they had lost their chance at an easy meal.

"Cover your ears," he instructed. Not wanting to waste any time that Jack could use by killing Zombie's, he did as he was told; eyes nearly popping out of his head as Jack pulled out a smart looking twenty-four calibre shot-gun and aimed it at one Zombie's head.

Shots rang out, killing any Zombie in the way instantly, thankfully muffled by Jerry's hands over his ears. The Zombie's were falling down like dominoes, pained-sounding grunts emitting from their mouths.

Jerry spotted a legless one dragging itself across the floor, smearing dirty blood everywhere, heading straight for Jack. But he couldn't see it, he was too preocupied blowing a stubborn one's brains out.

So Jerry, doing the only thing he could, ran over to where the Zombie was, apprehending it, and began jumping up and down on his head. His shoes cracked right through it's skull, mushing it's brain to pieces. It was disgusting, yet interesting to a few people, how they could live with whatever they had had chewed off before they died.

One last shot was fired and Jack kicked the Zombie to the ground, it's head smashing against the wall; the entire place looked like something out of a horror movie - but then again, their lives _were_ a horror movie - blood was everywhere, staining the walls, the floor, Jerry's shoes and some of Jack's shirt, while their lifeless bodies lay sprawled and mangled on the floor, their empty eyes staring back at them.

"Come on," Jack said after a moment of silence, slinging a protective arm around him and motioning to the other end of the alleyway. "You can stay at mine tonight," he said and Jerry smiled as they began walking, trying to scrape the Zombie brain off of his shoes. His mother had already had a hard time keeping the food to a sustainable amount with his baby brother there. It was one less mouth to feed the way he saw it.

On the walk home, Jerry found himself increasingly jumpy, even at the sound of passing cars. He supposed being cornered by Zombie's in an alleyway and almost becoming their meal - paradoxically one of them in the process - would to that to anyone. He was just lucky Jack showed up when he did.

They made it back to Jack's house just as the horizon became a burning pink color, usually the time most Zombie's would come out to play, and the time when Jerry no longer felt safe. His house _had_ protection, but it wasn't very high-tech and a Zombie or two had gotten in before, resulting in a sleepless month and nightmares that had since fizzled away.

"Woah!" Jerry commented, open-mouthed at the sight of Jack's house. Nothing much had changed, except the large electric fence barricading it, giving it a fortress-like apparel. _That must have been why Jack's been so buff recently, _Jerry thought absent-mindedly, smiling at his friend before cheering, "_Swag_ fence, dude!"

Jack chuckled before opening the gate and gently pushing him inside. He shut it after him. "That reminds me," he smiled before reaching above his head and flicking a switch. The fence flickered up around them both, sizzling as it surrounded them with a glowing blue light.

"Cool," Jerry marvelled, wide-eyed, making Jack chuckle. He wondered when the fence had been built; he had stayed round Jack's house only last week when his house was being fumigated and he had refused point-blank to share a bed with his cousin, Pepito. Not after last time. Just _thinking_ about it left a sour taste in Jerry's mouth.

"Fifty-thousand volts of electricity," Jack said proudly as they walked inside. "Any zombie tries to get through, they're toast." Jack bolted the door shut behind them, pulling the curtains closed, while Jerry tried not to cringe at the thought of Zombie's frying on the fence.

"Where's your Mum?" he asked, noticing the usual smell of Mrs. Brewer's cooking filling the house was gone.

Jack had suddenly gone very quiet, looking down slightly, clearing his throat before saying, "Out, for a bit." Jerry couldn't help but feel something was wrong, but maybe she _had_ just gone out. Maybe to get more food, or some more gas for the fence's generator.

"Come on." Jack nodded his head towards the top of the stairs, not giving Jerry a time to say anything before he grabbed his wrist anyway and began leading him up the stairs.

Jerry frowned as Jack turned away from his bedroom - quickly hurrying past his Mum's room, which was strange to say the least - and headed down the other end of the hallway. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Checking you for bites," Jack responded, pushing the door to the bathroom open and turning the light on.

Jerry froze. He had forgotten about getting bitten, admist the sheer terror of being cornered against a wall by those... _things_ and having to stamp on one until it was dead. If it wasn't, Jerry was up against a Zombie with a vendetta, although being legless, it couldn't do much except swipe at his heels.

Jack was rummaging through the medicene cabinet, pulling out a bottle of anti-septic and a handful of cotton buds, before turning to look at Jerry expectantly while saying, "Well come on." He walked closer to him. "Take your shirt off," he instructed.

Jerry licked his lips nervously, his face reddening. It only reddened more as Jack laughed at his apparent nervousness. He didn't know _why_ he was, Jack was a boy too. But also his best friend... "Right now?" he asked, Jack nodded at him. "But-"

He stopped talking at the sound of a click, realising Jack was pointing his gun at him, smirking wickedly while saying, "Shirt off, punk!"

Jerry had no idea whether the gun was still loaded, or all of it's bullets were in the Zombie's heads, but he couldn't hold his laughter in. It felt good to laugh, and Jack was the only one who could give him such a reaction as of late.

"You wouldn't shoot me," he chuckled towards Jack. The other boy smiled warmly, before Jerry found himself pressed against Jack's chest - very muscular chest - with an arm draped carefully around his neck with the barrel of Jack's gun held loosely against his temple.

"Wouldn't I?" Jack whispered playfully in his ear. Jerry had to hold onto Jack's arm, and his slowly slipping composure, to keep from falling into Jack's body. He didn't know what was going on with him, but he _did_ know the situation had escalated pretty quickly; from playful stand-off, to lighter version of sleeper-hold that had his mind filling with dirty images.

Jerry scoffed to cover up his nervousness and wormed his way out of Jack's hold, begrudgingly stripping his shirt off. "Happy now?!" he asked in slight exasperation, splaying his arms out.

Jack smiled and walked closer to him - Jerry could swear his eyes looked preadatory - to inspect him throughly. Jerry bit his lip as he started to feel queasy about the idea; he didn't know if it was Jack's soft touch probing at his skin, or his close proximity. Either way, it was something that he wanted over with to save the awkwardness.

"You're good," Jack said after a while - long enough for Jerry to teasingly accuse him of staring at him while checking for bites - and Jerry swiftly grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head, relieved that his body heat dropped considerably.

"It's late." Jack glanced outside; the sun had set, being replaced with inky black darkness. There was no moon out, no stars shining, it was perfect ground for Zombie's to lurk and prey on the unsuspecting or the poor stragglers who couldn't make it home in time. It really was Hell on Earth here.

Jerry followed Jack back to his room, noticing Mrs. Brewer still wasn't back yet, but didn't say anything about it; Jack seemed tetchy and distant when he said something last time.

Jack locked his bedroom door behind him, stripping his shoes and jacket off. Jerry was more than happy to take his shoes off, it was revolting to think there was still pieces of Zombie's underneath them. Jack pulled the curtains shut and Jerry made himself comfortable on the sofa bed he had slept on so many times before.

It was good to be close to someone, everybody needed somebody to rely on, someone to trust. Trust was as rare as pure gold these days, it was every man for himself, but that wasn't how the Wasabi Warriors operated, they looked out for each other and Jack definetely held the position of the most loyal. Jack had become like his brother, during this time, despite Jerry feeling something deeper than a friendship.

The air conditioner flicked on and started pumping out icy air. Jerry snuggled deeper into the blanket, trying to warm himself up, but it didn't work. He just laid there shivering while his teeth chattered violently in his mouth; he tried rubbing his hands over his arms, but it felt like ice on ice. _Pure torture._

"Jerry?" He sat up at the sound of Jack's voice to see him looking at him worriedly through the darkness. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm freezing," Jerry replied sheepishly, trying desperately to _not_ hold his jaw still. One thing puzzled him; How had _one_ air conditioner made the room so cold in minutes?! And how had Jack been remotely close to sleeping before his teeth chattering woke him up?

"Sorry," Jack apologised softly. "I have to keep it cold in case the fence stops working and the Zombie's get in," he explained; as long it was for their survival, Jerry didn't care, he just found himself wishing that Jack had brought some thermal blankets before hand. "They hate it," he added with a knowing smile before settling back down into his bed.

Jerry frowned, curling up into the smallest ball he could physically squeeze himself into. He found himself shaking and shivering uncontrollably, visualizing himself on the hot beaches in Madrid. The visualization didn't help one bit, all it did was remind him that the rest of his family were over there, away from all this.

He tried to immerse himself in thoughts as he closed his eyes, trying to drift off, but each time he came close, he would shudder violently and wake himself back up. He sat up and peeked curiously at Jack, or rather his sleeping figure. He wasn't even _shivering_. Jerry would do anything to be Jack right about now.

A while later, and another failed attempt at getting to sleep, he felt felt waves of heat wash over him as his body temperature increased rapidly and his shivers stopped almost instantly. He frowned, feeling more material around him, then human skin. Blearily, he realised Jack was hugging him close, sharing his body warmth.

"What are you doing?" he asked sleepily, finally being able to stay still without his teeth chattering.

Jack chuckled softly, burrowing his head into the back of his neck. "Warming you up," he replied, his hands gently slipping under his thin shirt and splaying his fingers across the skin, warming it instantly.

Jerry smiled; Jack was always there to help him... _protect_ him, even if it was in the most unusual ways, Jerry knew he could always count on him. He was fiercely loyal to everyone, although he couldn't help but feel there was a special spot reserved for him. The idea was crazy, but completely possible. Jack had even admitted during a game of 'Would You Rather?' that he would save him from a sinking ship and possibly die doing it than escape himself.

Those words may have been a harmless game, but now living in Seaford had become a desperate race for survival, they now had meaning. A meaning which Jerry carried with him, and would carry with him until everything was over. _If_ it ever was.

Feeling too tired to keep his eyes open, Jerry closed them with a contented smile, feeling truly safe, safe in Jack's arms, for the first time since the Zombies invaded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey to anybody that's actually reading this, sorry I took so long to update but all my inspiration left me... but it's back now. ;) I decided to lower the rating to T, because it's not really that gruesome, depending on how other's choose to look at it.**

**Alright, this message is something I've put on everything I've updated, just to hopefully get my point across a little more. I appreciate every review I get, but it's really frustrating and disappointing to see a large amount of readers (well over 200 for some of my newer stories) and a small amount of reviewers. I actually want to hear what people think about my work, since I'm putting it on this site and available for people to read. Even a little constructive criticism from time to time is welcome because I actually think I do need it. **

**But anyway, enjoy this chapter and thank you to those people that did review. :)**

**And to Katy Simon, you must have read some part of the story, otherwise you couldn't know that it sucks, and I do have a life. You're the flamer, so **_**you're**_** the one who needs to get one. There's no point trashing my story because it ain't gonna stop me from writing it.**

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_A low moaning sound rumbled from behind the trees. His eyes widened as a pack of Zombies - ugly, disgusting things with rotten skin and the odd few had limbs chewed off - limped slowly towards him, their eyes looking malicious and hungry._

_Seeing no other choice, he darted into the alleyway, the Zombie's slowly, but surely, coming after him. Nothing in his karate training - not that he was good enough to even put up a remotely good fight against starving Zombie's - could have prepared him for this; Zombie's couldn't feel pain._

_Jerry screamed as their skeletal hands groped for him in the darkness, backing him up against the wall as he tried to avoid them. Their arms smothered him as his back hit the brick wall and all he could see was a mess of blackened skin and white eyes. He whimpered and gasped as their fingers clawed at his hair and skin, screaming loudly as they opened their mouths, revealing yellow crooked teeth, ready to make a meal out of him..._

"No!" he screamed loudly, thrashing about and flailing his arms, trying to push their greedy hands away. "Get away from me! _No!_" he screamed,

"Jerry," a menacing voice whispered.

Jerry tried to kick and punch, but the iron grip around his arms tightened. He shrieked as he felt a mouth move from around the back of his neck. He didn't want to die; he didn't want to become one of _them_, disgusting and festering monsters that fed on human flesh.

"Get off me!" he grunted, worming himself out the tight grip, but it became tighter, stopping him from moving, restraining his wrists and pinning them to his sides. Something about the grip seemed familiar, but the fact that a Zombie's grip felt like that, only made him fight harder. Zombie's made your insides turn in disgust, not warm and fuzzy.

"Jerry!" Jack's voice yelled loudly in his ear, making him jump and snap open his eyes, the Zombie's arms disappearing just as Jack's blurry, sunlit bedroom appeared.

He moved around, feeling Jack's grip loosen slightly, still shaken. The last nightmare he had, had been months ago, but it still didn't make it feel any better. If anything, the returning one that began the recurring cycle was always the worst.

"It's okay," Jack soothed him, lightly smoothing his hair. "I've got you,"

"Jack?" he asked, moving his arms to grip at the warm body behind him, looking around in confusion.

Jack's bed looked like it had barely been slept in. Then last night came back to him with a blush. Jack had slept in his 'guest bed' with him because the air conditioner was freezing him into a giant Jerry-flavoured popsicle. How Jack wasn't cold _still_ puzzled him.

"Hey," Jack greeted him softly. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Jerry said, rubbing a hand across his face. _That was __**some**__ nightmare_, he thought with a slight shudder.

He reared up slightly, stretching his arms in the air. He had no idea what the time was, but he knew that they were going to have to run to Karate practice; Zombie's always liked to lurk around in the mornings - the day-walker one's anyway - to see if they could catch any unsuspecting new fledglings who dared to risk their lives to get food and water.

"Want some breakfast?" Jack offered, stifling his own yawn.

"Pancakes?" Jerry said hopefully.

"Not sure if I have enough eggs," Jack said.

"But you'll go and check because I'm your very best friend in the whole wide world, who's just had a horrible nightmare?" Jerry grinned, batting his eyelashes playfully.

"Fine," Jack scowled jokingly, rolling his eyes as he pulled the cover off him. "Play the nightmare card," he added with a sniff, pretending to be affronted.

Jerry smiled at him, but then quickly shielded his eyes as he saw Jack un-buckling his jeans, nearly shrieking in surprise, "Wa-Woah, woah." He covered his hand with his other one, making sure he couldn't see through his fingers. "Dude!" he cried out towards Jack as he heard the rustling sounds of him getting changed.

"What?" Jack said nonchalantly, possibly shrugging. "Unless there's a girl hiding in there, I can't see anything to worry about," he said. Jack had always been the less modest of the two, but Jerry didn't know he would go so far as to get undressed in front of him.

"You can look now," Jack said after a while.

Jerry hesitantly peeled his hands away from his face, peeking through the gaps he was making with his fingers, relieved to see Jack pulling a shirt over his head.

"Were you trying to scar me permanently?!" Jerry said incredulously. Although he tried to be serious, a big grin spread across his face, counter-acting everything.

Jack raised his eyebrows at him. "Be nice or no pancakes," he warned him lightly, smiling as he jokingly wagged a finger at him.

"I'm sorry, Oh Sexy One," Jerry said playfully, rolling his eyes.

Jack shook his head, chuckling as he walked out of his room and down the stairs. Jerry rolled out of the bed and smoothed out his clothes. The house felt strange, even with Jack only downstairs. It felt eerie and empty. Jerry didn't like it.

Low groaning sounded suddenly outside the house and Jerry's stomach plummeted. He knew the electric fence kept him safe, and Jack no doubt would, but that didn't stop him from being any less terrified of the monster's that were lurking around it.

Jerry took a deep breath and hesitantly walked over to the window, peeking outside. He swallowed hard; a whole new hoarde of Zombie's were surrounding the fence, growling and moaning their frustrations at not being able to feast on the people inside without getting roasted six ways to Sunday.

"Here you go," Jack announced, walking into the room with a plate of steaming pancakes.

Jerry tore across the room, muttering a quick, "Thanks," while frantically grabbing the pancakes off the plate and speedily stuffing them into his pockets.

Jack looked bemused. "What are you-?"

"We gotta get to the Dojo," Jerry said in a hurry. "Quick." He jerked his head in the direction of the window and Jack looked confused before his eyes widened in realization.

He walked over to his bedside table, grabbing the gun off it, pocketing it. "Let's go," he said, making a run for the door.

Jerry didn't need telling twice. As he and Jack ran down the stairs, Jerry noticed Mrs. Brewer still wasn't there. He thought about saying something to Jack, but remembering how tense he seemed last night, he didn't. Maybe she had just stayed over somebody's house for the night and would be coming back later?

Jack silently shut the front door behind him, pulling Jerry behind the fence's large generator, shielding them from the Zombie's view. They seemed much more angry, some of them had even dared touching the fence and their already rotten bodies were laying admist the cluster of the living-dead.

It would be a miracle if they got to the Dojo in one piece.

"We need something to distract them," Jack whispered to him, quietly unlatching the back gate and pushing it open, giving them a clear lane to run out into. There was a shortcut through the woods, but neither of them were dumb enough to take any chances. At least they could see the majority of them, in the woods they wouldn't be able to.

Jerry pursed his lips, before picking up a large rock by his foot. He hurled it over the fence and the Zombie's gave startled grunts as the grass rustled, after bouncing off a few of their shoulders.

"I said 'distract them'," Jack nearly groaned in exasperation as the Zombie's were getting more and more relentless. It wouldn't be long before they could smell them. "Not _throw a rock at them_," he hissed.

Jerry held his hands up. "In my defence, I was aiming for the bush," he said, speaking a lot faster in his panic as the adrenaline raced through his veins. "I can't aim very well under pressure," he added, affronted.

"Too much information," Jack snapped, holding a hand up. He briefly poked his head round the side of the fence, before grabbing his wrist tightly. He pulled Jerry out and quickly locked the gate. "Come on!" he called, deeming it safe - in the most ridiculous sense - to run.

They did. Taking off like Olympic runners and not looking back at the house. The Zombie's didn't notice them and kept clawing at the fence, until one of the one's nearer the back caught wind of their scent and alerted the others.

The hoarde started after them in a slow pace, lowly growling like lions on the prowl. At this moment, Jerry couldn't decide what was more dangerous; the King of the Jungle, or the living dead with a taste for human flesh. Either way, he wasn't about to find out.

He put on an extra burst of speed, ignoring the cramps in his legs and the stitch forming in his side. The mall was only a mile or two away, and although the protection wasn't as good as an electric fence, Falafel Phil's, and many of the fast food restaurants, were still running and Rudy had some medical supplies in the Dojo.

Kim, Milton and Eddie suddenly came to Jerry's mind. They had left well before him last night - Rudy hadn't, he practically lived in the Dojo now - and he hadn't had time to text them this morning and find out if they were okay. It would kill him if his best friends had became the very things that were currently trying to kill him and Jack.

The mall got closer and closer and Jack and Jerry soon found themselves in the courtyard, leaning against the fountain, panting heavily. Jerry bent down, putting his hands on his thighs, looking over his shoulder. The Zombie's were several feet away from them and it was certainly going to take them more than a few minutes for them to catch up to him.

"Seriously?" he said incredulously, all-but glaring towards a panting Jack.

"What?" Jack asked.

"They're _waaaaayyy_ behind," Jerry said, pointing his arm towards the outskirts of the mall that the Zombie's were slowly limping over, their eyes hungry and blazing. "We coulda walked, man!" he said in exasperation, annoyed that he could have avoided doing the longest and fastest run he had ever done in his life.

Jack opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but held a hand up, deciding against it. He walked towards the Dojo, hesitantly pushing the doors open once their eyes landed on the mess inside.

The mat racks had snapped and they were strewn over the floor with ominous looking scratch marks in them, some of the bowstaffs were shattered in half, Rudy's trophies were dotted about the floor - one was lodged in the _wall_ - and severely dented and the large photo of their first tournament with Jack as a Wasabi Warrior had been smashed.

Dread seeped through Jerry as he and Jack stepped over the carnage. Rudy was nowhere to be found.

"Rudy?" Jack called out hesitantly into the silence, raising his fists in a defensive guard, on edge in case any Zombie's were lurking among the wreckage of the Dojo..

"Go away, Zombie's!" came Rudy's frightened sounding voice from inside his Office.

Jerry sighed in relief, looking at Jack with a small grin. At least he was okay.

"Rudy, it's us, Jack and Jerry," Jack called back.

"Prove it," Rudy demanded from behind the closed door.

"Sorry, Jerry," Jack whispered to him.

Jerry made a confused face. "What are you sorry f-" He was cut off as Jack brought his heel up and slammed painfully down on his toes. "Aaaaaahhhhhhh!" he screamed loudly as hot pain exploded throughout his foot, grabbing it in his hands and jumping around in the spot.

Jack gently gripped hold of his arm, letting Jerry lean against him for support, just as Rudy's office door unlocked and their Sensei's head popped out.

"Oh, it is you," he said sheepishly, fully emerging from the office, shutting the door behind him. "Sorry about that," he apologised, walking over to them.

"No problem," Jack smiled at him, relieved he was alright.

"What the heck happened in here?" Jerry asked, subconsciously glancing towards the door, his stomach knotting as the Zombie's had crossed the threshold to the mall.

"I forgot to lock the door and Zombie's got in," Rudy explained, hurriedly running over to the door and locking it for good measure, swinging down the metal bar he had added there last week. "They're _everywhere_," he shuddered.

"Yeah, I know." Jack nodded in agreement. "I had to save Jerry from a bunch of em' last night" - Jerry shuddered at that, his memory tainted with the horrifying images of black blood splattered against the wall and the legless Zombie clawing its way to the floor towards Jack... - "and last week I had to snag my Granddad's old gun just to do the food run," he said in disbelief.

"Jerry are you alright?" Rudy asked.

"Still SS," he said proudly, standing up tall.

"What's SS?" Jack asked in confusion.

"Swag and Sexy," Jerry grinned.

The three of them looked at each other before bursting out with laughter. Jerry had missed the sound of laughter. It had been foreign as of late and his ability to always crack jokes had gone with it. He was just being forced to grow up in order to survive around here, but as soon as things were back to normal, he would gladly start acting like a child again.

"He's fine," Jack reassured Rudy once their laughter had died down. "I checked him last night," he said, bringing an involuntary blush to Jerry's face as he remembered being 'held at gunpoint' to take his shirt off.

"What about you?" Rudy instantly became worried again.

"Fine," Jack smiled at him. "Do you need a hand cleaning up?" he offered.

"Does it _look_ like a train's been through here?" Rudy said incredulously, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jack rolled his eyes and bent down to pick up the trophies. "Come on, Jerry, gimme a hand," he said, twisting around to look at him.

"First I had to run, _now_ I have to clean?" Jerry said, feigning annoyance. "I'd better get paid for this!" he scowled playfully.

Grinning, Jack stood back up and grabbed his face, planting a soft, warm kiss on his cheek. Jerry's eyes widened and he blushed a furious shade of scarlet, making Jack laugh.

"Not _that_ kind of paid!" he said quietly, still trying to process the fact that Jack had _kissed_ him. He knew they were close, but he didn't think Jack would ever willingly kiss him, joking around or not. It felt... _sweet_, even in the black belt's haste and playfulness.

"Jack!" Kim's shrill yell of pure, unadulterated panic distracted the three of them. Jerry looked up to see Kim, Milton and Eddie pounding frantically on the door as the Zombie's were creeping ever-closer. "Let us in!" she screamed.

"Rudy, gimme the key," Jack said hurriedly, holding his hand out for it.

"Well," he began nervously, shifting uncomfortably. "I-I swallowed it, t-to stop the Zombie's from getting it," he finished sheepishly.

Panic seized Jerry's entire body and he was nearly tearing his hair out as he shrieked, "We don't have a few hours, Rudy!"

"Gotta do this the old fashioned way," Jack muttered. He backed up a few steps and ran towards the door, leaping into the air, pulling one leg towards his body while fully extending the other in a flying side-kick, smashing into the door, breaking the doors apart.

"Come on," he said, pulling Kim, Eddie and Milton inside before the Zombie's greedy hands could snatch them up. "Get in." He shut the door, but it hung loosely on its hinges, swinging back open.

"Jack," Rudy said as they all backed away from the door. "_Please_ tell me you have your gun," he asked. One Zombie crossed into the Dojo and Jerry nearly threw up from the putrid smell.

"Yeah," Jack said, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Oh thank goodness!" Rudy threw his hands up in the air happily while everyone else broke into smiles around him.

Jack clicked the trigger backwards, but it slipped through the gap as there was nothing anchoring it to the ammo that it would fire out. "But it's empty," he said, swallowing hard.

"We're dead!" Jerry cried, backing up as the rest of the Zombie's filled the Dojo. He was relieved to find that most of the one's who had surrounded them at Jack's house and chased them over here had given up, but the rest were as relentless as ever.

"No we aren't," Jack said firmly, clenching his fists and raising them. "Not yet," he said. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way." He looked around at them and Jerry nodded in determination, knowing he would quite literally have to fight for his life this time.

"Wasabi?" Jack asked, placing his fist against his upright palm.

The others followed suit, sombrely and silently unleashing the fighters that lived inside all of them. "Wasabi."

Jack was the first one to attack, crashing into the Zombie's with a flying dragon kick, then Kim leapt off towards them, unleashing a medley of frenzied attacks. Rudy wasted no time in unloading his strength on the nearest ones, his anger at them destroying the Dojo becoming apparent.

Jerry took a deep breath and spun around, aiming a wistful back-kick at one that was creeping towards him. Surprisingly, he knocked it to the ground. He had thought all along he could fight, he just had to believe in himself.

"Jerry! Duck!" Jack called suddenly.

Jerry squatted down just as Jack's foot came slicing through the air and over his head, knocking a Zombie to the ground. Kim rushed over and began pounding frantically at its face, blood splattering over her and the floor.

Milton and Eddie screamed, cowering in a corner as two Zombie's were looming over them. Rudy charged over, body-slamming them into the wall, rousing cheers from the five of them.

"Jerry!" Jack ran over to him and Jerry saw three Zombie's behind him.

Jack suddenly grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up into his arms. Jerry linked his hands around Jack's neck, alternating sides with his help, taking out the Zombie's behind him.

One was snarling at them from the side-lines and Jack swung him around again, holding onto his hand, and Jerry flicked his feet towards its head, knocking it down. He landed in a fighting stance and was about to ask Jack why he had just done that - he knew _why_, he wasn't that stupid, but he just didn't think Jack would have done that with him - but he had already ran over to Kim, helping her flip two _very_ stubborn Zombie's.

Jerry turned his attention back to the snarling one on the ground. It made a stunned grab for his ankle, but he stamped on its hand, crushing the bones and grinding the flesh into the mat. He then picked up one of Rudy's bowstaffs that had been lying around and stabbed haphazardly at its head, trying not to groan in disgust each time it smashed through its skull and blood began pouring from it.

"Oh," Rudy groaned loudly, momentarily distracting everyone. "Key's comin' back!" he muttered, holding his stomach as he made a beeline for his office, crashing into the door.

"Eddie, cover him!" Jack yelled while punching a Zombie in the face, stunning it, and shoving it away, kicking it to the ground.

Eddie nodded and he ran towards Rudy's office with him without hesitation, slamming the door shut behind them.

A feral growl made Jerry turn around and he ducked just in time to avoid getting his eyes scratched out by a Zombie's wayward hand. He grabbed its wrist and utilized all the strength he had to flip it to the ground - internally thanking Kim for teaching it to him a few weeks ago - sighing in resignation before jumping up and down on its head again, its blood seeping out through the fast appearing cracks in its skull.

Milton and Eddie grabbed a Zombie by the shoulders, grunting as they threw it to the ground, pinning its arms to the floor. Jack knelt down and punched his hand into the Zombie's skull, shattering the bone. He jerked his fingers around, ignoring the Zombie's snarls, before harshly yanking its brain out, discarding it and wiping his bloodied fingers on his jeans.

Jerry honestly felt like he was going to be sick, but he didn't have time. If he wasted so much as a second being careless, he could get bitten. The smell of rotting flesh engulfed his nostrils once more and he turned as a Zombie was about to pounce on him. He ducked in time, hunching down, and the Zombie tripped over him.

Eddie gave a loud battle cry and launched himself onto the Zombie, furiously beating its head in. Jerry slammed his heel down between the Zombie's eyes, reducing the Zombie to a rotten puddle of blood underneath tattered clothes.

With a jump-front kick from Kim, the last Zombie fell to the ground and Milton scrambled to pick up one of Rudy's dented trophies, bludgeoning the Zombie's head in a frenzy while Kim stomped on it. The two didn't stop until the Zombie's murderous growls had been silenced and its face was completely unrecognisable.

Jack pushed a Zombie's body off of him and Jerry soon found himself encased in a tight hug which he gladly accepted, even if Jack _was_ spattered with blood and smelled like a rotting corpse. Jerry noticed Kim was looking at them strangely, but he thought nothing of it.

Rudy's office door opened and he and Eddie came out, both reeling at the smell the dead Zombie's were making. "Are you guys alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," they replied back as one, although they _weren't_ fine. The place they had deemed one of the safest had been invaded and destroyed all in a single day. The sooner the Government got involved and put a plan into action to eliminate every last Zombie from the Earth, the better.

"Here's the key," Rudy said, holding it out.

"Jerry, you wanna get that?" Jack said quickly, stepping to the side.

Jerry frowned at him, then looked at Kim before following Jack to the side-lines. "Kim, you wanna get that?" he asked, pulling her in front of where he had been standing.

"Milton, you wanna get that?" Kim ran over to Jerry and Jack while Milton took one look at the key and looked like he was about to throw up, turning away to the side.

"Why is it always me?" Eddie complained, holding out a hand for Rudy to drop the key into. "So warm..." he grimaced, shuddering as he walked over to the door and locked it, swinging the metal bar down.

Jerry suddenly screwed his face up in confusion as he felt extremely hot. He looked at Jack and he was as white as a ghost. He didn't even notice that he was shaking, nor did anybody else. Fortunately Jerry did, which was unusual. He was always the last to notice important things.

"Jack, dude, are you okay?" he asked him, gaining the others attention, who looked at him in concern.

"Yeah," Jack said, looking at them in bewilderment. He clearly had no idea he had a fever. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"You look _really_ pale," Jerry said worriedly, putting a hand to his forehead, nearly yelping in pain. Jack was burning up; how could he not notice that? "Like, more than Milton," he added, getting extremely nervous.

"It's probably the trauma," Milton said, shooting him a dirty look, ignoring his comment. "A Scientific study in human behaviour shows that-"

"I'm okay, Milton," Jack said quickly, waving a hand to stop him from launching into a full-blown scientific investigation. "I just-" He stopped talking and suddenly lurched to the side, emptying the contents of his stomach all over the floor, coughing and panting as he fell to his knees.

Rudy rushed over to him, laying a hand on his back while he heaved out the rest of what was coming back up his throat. "Kim, Milton, bring the sofa out from my office," he said hurriedly. "Eddie, run and get the thermometer from the bathroom," he ordered.

Kim and Milton wasted no time running into Rudy's office and Eddie ran into the bathroom as Jack toppled sideways, collapsing on the floor. Jerry was beginning to get worried; Jack couldn't be sick, he was perfectly fine this morning, fine enough to _run_ all the way from his house to the mall. Something was definitely wrong.

"Jack, can you hear me?" Rudy knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his cheek.

Jack was unresponsive. He was _white_ and sweat drenched his forehead, his mouth was open slightly, pouring out one shallow, ragged breath after the other. His body was running a fever, that was certain, but what was unusual was the fact that Jerry could feel the heat from it even though he was a few feet away from Rudy.

Rudy's office door burst open and Kim and Milton staggered out with the sofa. "Here's the sofa, Rudy," Kim said, hoisting it further off the ground as her end slipped and the cushions toppled off. "Oh lift like a man, Milton!" she yelled in exasperation as he completely dropped his end.

"I'm under-developed!" he hissed back, straining to lift it back up.

Jerry rolled his eyes and went to give him a hand. They set it down a few feet away from where Jack was laying and Jerry went around picking the cushions up, throwing them haphazardly onto the sofa.

Rudy lifted Jack into his arms, carefully putting him down on the sofa. Jerry stacked the pillows up behind Jack's back, propping him up slightly so if he threw up again he wouldn't be laying down.

"Here," Eddie handed Rudy the thermometer and Jerry felt like he was on the verge of biting his nails off. This couldn't be happening.

Rudy slipped the thermometer in the small gap between Jack's lips, taking it out after a few seconds. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Sixty-five degrees," he said in exasperation, looking worriedly at a slowly waking Jack.

"I'm sure I'll be okay," he said, smiling weakly at him and Jerry, trying to reassure them. "I just forgot breakfast this morning." He sat up on the sofa and Jerry looked him over. There was no way his fever could have been caused by forgetting his breakfast. There was a gnawing feeling at his gut, but he pushed it down.

Eddie pulled something out of his back pocket. "You can have my churro." He offered Jack the pastry, but he shook his head, pushing it away. Eddie just shrugged and began eating it himself.

"You didn't get bitten, did you?" Kim asked shakily, voicing the question that had been nagging at Jerry's mind. The one that he would never of had been able to ask.

"I'll check," he said. Putting all slight embarrassment aside for the time being - he was sure he was blushing from the prospect of having to touch Jack - he took hold of Jack's shirt and lifted it up.

There was nothing on his stomach, so Jerry bit his lip, sliding his hand around Jack's torso to his back, feeling around for anything. Needles of fear shot through him as his fingers ran over a patch of skin that felt coarse.

He turned Jack around, his eyes, and everyone else's, widening at what he saw.

"Jerry," Jack began nervously, twisting his head around to meet his eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

"A Zombie bite."

* * *

**Alright, you probably saw **_**that**_** coming. I hope everyone was in character and I'm so very sorry if this chapter was boring, but leave me a review letting me know what you thought and I'll need over ten for an update. ;)**


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